Nevada, New Jersey Sports Betting Combine For $1B In October Handle

Nevada and New Jersey combined for more than $1 billion in sports betting handle last month, reaching that milestone for the first time since PASPA‘s repeal in 2018.

Nevada sports betting handle rose 2.9% to $543.9 million in October, led by football and a nice bump from baseball. Revenue hit $47.9 million, up 62.1% over the same period last year.

New Jersey, meanwhile, set its record with $487.9 million in total wagers. That jumped 87.2% over the prior year, with several mobile platforms still in the startup phase.

Nevada sports betting not falling off

Any concern over the possible decline of Nevada sports betting due to competition from other states simply seems misplaced at this point.

Nevada’s handle has been slightly up or down the past few months as more states have brought their industries online. But it, so far, seems clear that regional sports betting is simply adding to the overall handle instead of pinching from Nevada.

It will be even more interesting to look at the figures this time next year. While New Jersey is the leader outside of Nevada for now, Pennsylvania could come on strong as more mobile operators launch in the state. States like Indiana and West Virginia with full mobile will also continue to ramp.

Other states with full mobile like Colorado, New Hampshire, Tennessee as well as Washington, D.C., will also be live and contributing to sports betting handle. Illinois should be live as well, but there’s still a chance the state will require in-person registration, which limits a market’s potential.

Football leads the way

As expected, the biggest chunk of Nevada sports betting action came from football at 65.4% of all handle. Football handle rose 4.5% from last year to $355.7 million.

Betting on the World Series helped baseball handle rise 11.7% to $83 million last month. More impressively, revenue from baseball betting rose 40.2% to $11.5 million. That almost certainly had to do with Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, who placed some bets on the Houston Astros to win in Las Vegas.

Matthew Waters

Matthew Waters is a reporter covering legal sports betting and the gambling industry. Previous stops include Fantini Research and various freelance jobs covering professional and amateur sports in Delaware and the Philadelphia area.